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Panasonic GH2 vs Panasonic SZ7

Portability
70
Imaging
51
Features
65
Overall
56
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7 front
Portability
95
Imaging
37
Features
41
Overall
38

Panasonic GH2 vs Panasonic SZ7 Key Specs

Panasonic GH2
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 160 - 12800
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 442g - 124 x 90 x 76mm
  • Announced March 2011
  • Succeeded the Panasonic GH1
  • Later Model is Panasonic GH3
Panasonic SZ7
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 25-250mm (F3.1-5.9) lens
  • 133g - 99 x 59 x 21mm
  • Launched January 2012
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Panasonic GH2 vs Panasonic SZ7 Overview

Let's look closer at the Panasonic GH2 versus Panasonic SZ7, former being a Advanced Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and both are created by Panasonic. The resolution of the GH2 (16MP) and the SZ7 (14MP) is pretty similar but the GH2 (Four Thirds) and SZ7 (1/2.3") have totally different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The GH2 was released 9 months prior to the SZ7 so they are both of a similar age. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic GH2 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic SZ7 being a Compact camera.

Before we go straight to a more detailed comparison, here is a quick introduction of how the GH2 scores against the SZ7 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic GH2 over the Panasonic SZ7

 GH2 SZ7 
Manually focus Very accurate focusing
Screen typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating screen
Selfie screen Take selfies
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Panasonic SZ7 over the Panasonic GH2

 SZ7 GH2 
LaunchedJanuary 2012March 2011More recent by 9 months

Common features in the Panasonic GH2 and Panasonic SZ7

 GH2 SZ7 
Screen size3"3"Same screen dimensions
Screen resolution460k460kIdentical screen resolution

Panasonic GH2 vs Panasonic SZ7 Physical Comparison

For anyone who is planning to lug around your camera often, you need to factor its weight and size. The Panasonic GH2 enjoys outside dimensions of 124mm x 90mm x 76mm (4.9" x 3.5" x 3.0") with a weight of 442 grams (0.97 lbs) while the Panasonic SZ7 has specifications of 99mm x 59mm x 21mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.8") and a weight of 133 grams (0.29 lbs).

See the Panasonic GH2 versus Panasonic SZ7 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you have attached during that time. Below is a front view overall size comparison of the GH2 versus the SZ7.

Panasonic GH2 vs Panasonic SZ7 size comparison

Factoring in size and weight, the portability score of the GH2 and SZ7 is 70 and 95 respectively.

Panasonic GH2 vs Panasonic SZ7 top view buttons comparison

Panasonic GH2 vs Panasonic SZ7 Sensor Comparison

Usually, it's difficult to visualise the difference between sensor measurements purely by reviewing specs. The visual below may offer you a more clear sense of the sensor dimensions in the GH2 and SZ7.

As you can plainly see, both of the cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The GH2 featuring a bigger sensor will make achieving shallower DOF simpler and the Panasonic GH2 will deliver extra detail as a result of its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also help you crop pictures way more aggressively. The older GH2 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.

Panasonic GH2 vs Panasonic SZ7 sensor size comparison

Panasonic GH2 vs Panasonic SZ7 Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic GH2 vs Panasonic SZ7 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic GH2 Portrait photography factors
Panasonic SZ7 Portrait photography factors
70
has manual focus
sensor resolution is decent (16MP)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
provides face detection focusing
delivers RAW files
33
MP count good (14MP)
has face detect autofocus
manual focus not available
lack of manual exposure
external flash not possible
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Panasonic GH2
Street photography with Panasonic SZ7
68
screen can move to multiple angles
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
lack of image stabilization
63
has image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competitors (133 grams)
no moving screen
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic GH2 Sports photography info
Panasonic SZ7 Sports photography info
46
sensor resolution is decent (16 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
provides tracking autofocus
max fps low (3.0 fps)
lack of image stabilization
low battery life (330 per charge)
lack of phase detect AF
43
has image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (14MP)
has tracking focus
no shutter priority mode
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic GH2 as a Travel photography camera
Panasonic SZ7 as a Travel photography camera
62
sensor resolution is decent (16MP)
flash built-in
screen is selfie friendly
missing Time Lapse mode
low battery life (330 shots)
70
lighter than competitors (133g)
MP count good (14 megapixels)
built-in flash
decently wide (25mm)
long zoom (250mm)
lack of Time Lapse recording
display isn't selfie friendly
slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
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Landscape Comparison

Panasonic GH2 Landscape photography highlights
Panasonic SZ7 Landscape photography highlights
60
has manual focus
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
decent sized screen (3 inches)
sensor resolution is decent (16MP)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
lack of image stabilization
low battery life (330 per charge)
missing Time Lapse mode
42
decently wide (25mm)
good sized screen (3")
has image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (14MP)
manual focus not available
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
lack of manual exposure
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
lack of Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic GH2 Vlogging highlights
Panasonic SZ7 Vlogging highlights
71
screen is selfie friendly
screen is touchscreen
provides face detection focusing
high res video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
has external mic jack
lack of image stabilization
35
decently wide (25mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
has face detect autofocus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
lighter than competitors (133g)
slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
display isn't selfie friendly
lack of mic socket
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Panasonic GH2 vs Panasonic SZ7 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic GH2 and Panasonic SZ7
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7
General Information
Brand Panasonic Panasonic
Model Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7
Category Advanced Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Announced 2011-03-23 2012-01-09
Physical type SLR-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip Venus Engine FHD -
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 14MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 4608 x 3456 4320 x 3240
Max native ISO 12800 6400
Minimum native ISO 160 100
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Manual focus
AF touch
Continuous AF
Single AF
AF tracking
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Number of focus points 23 23
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 25-250mm (10.0x)
Highest aperture - f/3.1-5.9
Macro focus distance - 4cm
Total lenses 107 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 5.9
Screen
Type of display Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Display diagonal 3 inch 3 inch
Resolution of display 460k dots 460k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Display technology TFT Color LCD with wide-viewing angle TFT Color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.71x -
Features
Min shutter speed 60s 8s
Max shutter speed 1/4000s 1/1600s
Continuous shutter rate 3.0 frames/s 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 15.60 m 5.60 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Max flash synchronize 1/160s -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (24, 30, 60fps) 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30fps), 320 x 240 (30fps) 1920 x 1080 (60, 30 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video data format AVCHD, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD
Mic port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 442 gr (0.97 lbs) 133 gr (0.29 lbs)
Physical dimensions 124 x 90 x 76mm (4.9" x 3.5" x 3.0") 99 x 59 x 21mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.8")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score 60 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 21.2 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 11.3 not tested
DXO Low light score 655 not tested
Other
Battery life 330 photographs 220 photographs
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Card slots 1 1
Retail price $1,000 $199